Chapter 11: Worst of the Four
Evaline:
The days started to pass in a suffocating blur.
I had barely slept since that night. My mind was trapped in an endless loop of fear and doubt.
My episodes of nausea had only worsened. They crept in like an unwelcome shadow at the oddest times - early in the morning, in the middle of chores, and even when I was alone in my chamber.
The worst part was the helplessness.
I had no way to confirm what I already knew in my heart. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t sneak out and buy a pregnancy kit. I was a captive in this mansion, and was surrounded by guards and acres of forest. I had no friends, no money, and no escape.
But even if I could confirm it... what then? There was no way I could get an abortion. It wasn’t just about finding a place and enough money to do it, even escaping long enough to reach a clinic was impossible.
I was trapped.
My stomach twisted violently again, forcing me to lean over the sink in the empty servant bathroom as another wave of sickness rolled through me. My body heaved, but there was nothing left inside me to throw up.
My limbs shook from exhaustion as I wiped my mouth with trembling fingers. I slumped back against the wall as my chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths.
If things had been different, if my life hadn’t fallen apart the way it had, I might probably have felt happy about the idea of carrying a child.